His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿Thus We insert it into the hearts of the criminals﴾ ﴿They do not believe in it, and the way of the earlier ones has already passed﴾ ﴿And if We opened for them a door from the heaven, and they continued to ascend therein﴾ ﴿They would surely say, "Our eyes have been dazzled; rather, we are a people bewitched."﴾

The pronoun refers back to mockery or polytheism and similar things. This is the saying of Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Ibn Jarir, and Ibn Zayd. The pronoun in "in it" refers back to that very thing. The preposition indicates cause, meaning: they do not believe because of their polytheism and mockery. His saying: ﴿They do not believe in it﴾ is in the context of the present situation. It is possible that the pronoun in "We insert it" refers back to the "preserved mention" previously mentioned, which is the Qur'an, meaning: we enter it into the hearts of the criminals, being denied and mocked. The pronoun in "in it" also refers back to it, meaning: they do not believe in it. It is possible that the pronoun in "We insert it" refers back to mockery and polytheism, and the pronoun in "in it" refers back to the Qur'an, so the references of the two pronouns differ in this case, and the meaning in all of that looks at each other.

And "We insert it" means we enter it. It is said: I inserted the man into the matter if I made him enter it. From this is the saying of the poet:

And I was a source of concern for your opponent, why should I expose myself When they have inserted you into a difficult matter.

And from it is the saying of another:

Until when they inserted them into a conflict They were as if they were driving away the strays.

And from it is the saying of Abu Wajzah describing wild donkeys:

Until they inserted the young ones among them in a trap From the offspring of those who roam the horizons.

Zujaj said: It can be read as "We insert it" with a dammed noon and a broken lam. And "the criminals" in this verse refers to the disbelievers of Quraysh and the contemporaries of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him.

And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: ﴿They do not believe in it﴾ has a general meaning but is specific to those who have been sealed upon. And His saying: ﴿And the way of the earlier ones has already passed﴾ means: upon this pattern. And you say: I inserted the man into the matter and I made him enter it, meaning the same, and it is narrated:

Until when they inserted them into a conflict.

And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: ﴿And if We opened for them﴾ the pronoun refers back to Quraysh and the disbelievers of the era who have been sealed upon. The pronoun in His saying: "and they continued" may refer back to them, which is more emphatic in their insistence. This is the interpretation of Al-Hasan. And "they ascend" means: they rise. Al-Amash and Abu Haywah read: "they ascend" with a broken ra. And "the ascensions" are the stairs, and from this is the Mi'raj, and from this is the saying of Kathir:

To a noble lineage, built before him His father had in it ascensions of a ladder.

And it is possible that it refers back to the angels due to their saying: ﴿Why do you not bring us the angels?﴾ [Al-Hijr: 7]. So it is as if Allah, exalted and majestic is He, said: "And if they saw the angels ascending and moving through an open door in the heaven, they would not believe." And this is the interpretation of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both.

And the seven reciters, except for Ibn Kathir, read: "Sukirat" with a dammah on the sīn and a shaddah on the kāf. Ibn Kathir alone read it with a softened kāf, which is the reading of Mujahid. Ibn al-Zuhri read it with a fatha on the sīn and a softened kāf, based on the form of the verb for the subject. Aban ibn Taghlib read: "Suhhirat absaruna," and his saying: ﴿Rather, we are a people bewitched﴾ indicates a transition to a greater degree of the bewitchment of the mind. The Arabs say: "Sakarat al-rih taskaru sukuran" when it becomes still and does not pass through what it was meant to at first. They also say: "Sakira al-rajul min al-sharab yaskaru sukhran" when his state changes and becomes still, and does not pass through what is permissible for a person to pass through. From this meaning: "Sakran la yabittu," meaning: he does not resolve a matter. The Arabs also say: "Sakaratu al-fataq fi majari al-ma'i sakran" when it has been obscured and diverted from the water, so it does not pass through its face.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

So this word: "Sukirat" with a shaddah on the kāf, if it is from the intoxication of drink or from the stillness of the wind, is an action that is rendered by doubling. If it is from the intoxication of the water's flow, then its doubling is for exaggeration, not for transitivity, because the softened form of the verb is transitive. Abu Hatim preferred this reading, because "the eyes" is plural, and the emphasis with the plural is more, as he said: ﴿The doors are opened for them﴾ [Sad: 50]. And whoever reads: "Sakirat" with a dammah on the sīn and a softened kāf, if the word is from the intoxication of water, then it is a transitive action. If it is from the intoxication of drink or from the stillness of the wind, then we imply that the action was built for the object until we render it transitive. This action is of the type: Zayd returned and he was returned by another, and the eye was obscured and it was obscured by a man. So you would say - on this basis -: The man became intoxicated and he was made intoxicated by another, and the wind became still and it was made still by something other than it. The meaning of this statement from them is: Our eyes were changed from what they were upon, so they do not give us the realities of things as they used to do. Some of the interpreters expressed this word by saying: Our eyes were veiled, and some of them said: Our eyes were blinded. This and similar interpretations are by meaning and do not relate to the wording. It is also said: These seers are the ascension of the angels or the ascension of their souls after their saying: "Sukirat absaruna" rather, we were bewitched until we do not comprehend things as we should, meaning: the magic has diverted us.